This car caught my eye on my trip to Japan several years ago. I loved its unique styling, that no other car has. When I heard they were coming to North America, I was quite excited. Being a student, I was unable to purchase a new one with the options I wanted. So I waited for a pre-owned unit to be available somewhere in Winnipeg.
In November of 2010 I found one, it was almost fully loaded (no leather, or mood light option) and very well priced, mostly due to the higher mileage of the unit. Considering the lowest mileage vehicle I had ever owned was my Saturn (which I got at 155000, now at 210000+ and I drive it daily) 55000 seemed very low.
The car appeared to be very well cared for, with a single chip in the paint just by the rear drivers fender lip, and the odd surface scratch on the interior.
It was love at first sight. I love almost everything about the car, the polarizing conversational looks. The smooth ride and sofa style seats remind me of 80's Cadillacs without the drawbacks.
The car handles well, though the steering is not sporty by any means. The car is very economical, and the engine, mated to the CVT, is spirited but still slow; a 2.0 engine would be great. The push button start is my favorite overall feature, with my favorite secret feature is the cheap to insure vehicle classification of "Sub-Compact".
The stereo is fantastic. I never get road rage as I sit with great visibility in a relaxed driving position with great tunes bumpin.
Now the bad news. The passenger window is very weak for a car 2 years old. It doesn't handle nice on icy roads; the the stability control has to kick in to save me even when it's nothing but icy highway and a gust of wind. The ABS is a little too sensitive, and the car really needs a little more power.
NOW these things are all fairly easy to overlook, and I like embracing new technology. I do prefer a manual gearbox, but the CVT was practical for the family.
I do drive my cars hard, and aggressively, however they are extremely well maintained; full synthetic oils, and even if my brake pedal is a bit spongy, I start changing parts to fix the problem. I wash the car every week and personally wipe/wax and spray an oil additive to prevent rust bi-monthly. The Saturn SL1 and the Astro Van I had (both GM) take to this treatment with outstanding reliability. The odd component fails on them, but when visually inspected it's clearly due to age.
I do a lot of research, and hearing so much about foreign reliability, I expected a lot... A LOT more from my Cube. I really want to like it, and I try to think I just got a bad apple. The dealer has been fantastic in handling every problem I experienced with the vehicle, but I've started to look at other vehicles, and I've only had this one 4 months (the Saturn is going on for its 4th year).
